Description (from cover):'After establishing her reputation as one of London's most highly regarded undertakes, Violet Harper decided to take her practice to the wilds of the American West. But when her mother falls ill, Violet and her husband Samuel are summoned back to England, where her skills are as sought-after as ever. She's honored to undertake the funeral of Anthony Fairmont, the Viscount Raybourn, a close friend of Queen Victoria's who died in suspicious circumstances--but it's difficult to perform her services when his body disappears...
As the viscount's undertaker, all eyes are on Violet as the Fairmonts and Scotland Yard begin the search for his earthly remains. Forced to exhume her latent talents as a sleuth to preserve her good name, Violet's own investigation takes her from servants' quarters, to the halls of Windsor Castle, to the tombs of ancient Egypt--and the Fairmont family's secrets quickly begin to unravel like a mummy's wrappings. But the closer Violet gets to the truth, the closer she gets to becoming the next missing body...
Wrought with both heartfelt bravery and breathtaking suspense, Stolen Remains is a captivating tale of death and deception set against the indelible backdrop of Victorian London.'
My thoughts:
I have never pictured myself to be someone who is interesting in the undertaking and mortuary business. However, this series really intrigues me and opens up a world that I would have never found myself to enjoy. The Victorians were quite sentimental about death and it is interesting to see how they handled the death of loved ones and how it differs from how funerals are held today. Some people would say that the Victorians were quite morbid about death, and in a way they are right. I can't even fathom creating jewelry or keepsakes from the hair of a dead person, but this was quite a common practice in those days. The author of this book does a wonderful job of informing the reader of the culture and the practices surrounding death in the Victorian era and I find it to be quite interesting at the same time.
I enjoyed the first book in this series and I enjoyed this book. I will say that there was one time in this book that I was a little frustrated at something that I felt would never had happened in real life and it annoyed me. I like to read books that seem to be true to real life in a sense, and this event was a little farfetched and it kind of made me not like this book quite as much. I like to read something that I can find to be believable and when something happens that strays from that, it does irk me and tends to make me question the whole story and plot line.
Overall, I find Violet's character to be engaging and the storyline to be intense and captivating. I will say that Violet does irritate me that she talks to the dead in the way that she does, but never being someone in that position, I can't say if that is what really happens or just something that the author wanted to add to this book. I just can't see myself comforting the dead, especially someone who is a stranger to me. Anyways, not the best in the series, but enough to keep me interested and wanting to see what happens next.
Overall Rating: 3
Title: Stolen Remains
Author: Christine Trent
Series: Lady of Ashes Mystery #2
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: April 29, 2014
Pages: Kensington
Genre: Historical Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
